G.A.C.O.L.B.

Steve Nash literally gave me a headache.

Trevor Booker is a beast though. They should start him instead of that other guy.

The Clippers will find a way to **** it up.

Rumors are starting to circulate again that talks between us and the Magic have resurfaced for Arenas. I don't know if I want to trade him to a division rival but if it's good for us in the long term, it might be worth it. Plus I wouldn't mind seeing Gilbert have a shot at a ring and I'd definitely root for him to do it.

If he plays well, a team that has a shot at a title will want him. With the CBA and possible strike coming up, some of these teams may not have a chance again.

Ted has completely shot done that rumor.

Back to pjf's post, here's what Ted has to say after last night's loss:

Agree - Ugly

No one can be happy with the Wizard’s performance in Toronto last night. No one.

My expectations are quite simple; the team needs to forge an identity that we are energetic; have young legs– we are tough to play against–and we have upside. And that we play tough and that we play together. We are tight–we are well coached.

We didn’t show any thing like that last night– and to not have one road win yet this season is unacceptable.

We all know that; but this is the business we have chosen; to rebuild; to get healthy– to play through rough and tough times together– if it doesn’t kill you–it makes you stronger.We are in it together–all of us. I get the joke. I was happy to see John Wall and Al Thorton back on the court last night– they will help us get back to higher levels of team performance.

Losing on the road so much also places so much more importance on winning at home. After 3 tough road games– we get to play one at home on Friday– then we go back on the road. Again.

Time to regroup.

And time to ignore the noise that the media tries to create– and focus on signal.

I can’t and won’t comment any more about Internet rumors; I tried to be straight forward– and direct in my comments about trade rumors– yet it did nothing to stop the generation of pixels in that regard– so be it.

Has Gil had a good game in which Wall got a significant amount of PT? I can't remember one. Maybe he can't flourish alongside Wall

Don't recall one either. We'll see what happens. Gilbert is such a freelancer I just don't know how it's gonna mesh with Wall.

I can't fake Vishal. I think Vince Carter is the greatest dunker of all time. Shame he has the heart of a bum.

He had a play at UNC when Ed Cota was the PG. They were playing Duke like Thursday night. Late. There was a breakaway with Cota out ahead of everyone and Carter trailing him. He threw an alley oop off the backboard to Carter. VC missed the dunk (bounced off the back of the rim) but I swear to God it was the greatest missed dunk in the history of basketball. I wish there was video of that. A dozen years later and that play is still burned into my memory.

---------- Post added December-2nd-2010 at 02:20 AM ----------

The internet is the greatest invention ever. I can't believe I found the video. And in like three seconds:

I LOVED Ed Cota. I was still a kid at the time and I couldn't understand for the life of me why he didn't play in the NBA. He was so great at UNC. Playing with Stackhouse, 'Sheed, Jamison and VC for your entire college year probably helps, lol.

Vince Carter: 20 points in the first half tonight.

He's a keeper.

I've be 50/50 on trading Gil for awhile now. There have been times where I've slipped into being in favor of it, but this past week or so is the first time I've been inclined to wanna keep him. He's been looking good out there.

But I still have questions about how he can play with Wall and sometimes he looks like an offensive rhythm/scheme killer with his 24-foot shots 6 seconds into the shotclock. But he is still a very dynamic player. And I think the younger guys look up to him so if he can become a leader, watch out.

And I think another thing to take into consideration is what exactly can we do with all that cap space? Who are gonna be the big money guys hitting free agency next year and the year after? I know 'Melo is the big one but I can't see him coming here, local or not.

Either way, it's much too early to pull the trigger on any trade imo. Maybe he fits with Wall, maybe he starts dropping 30 a night again, maybe he boasts his value and instead of just getting a dime a dozen expiring deal, we get something tangible for the longterm.

There's the possibility that something bad happens and the time to dump him passes and we're stuck with him. But the upside (both in him being on the team and him boasting his trade value) is enough for me to take that risk.

Miami won by 11. How exactly is that a "rout"?

That sells better than "The Heat played a solid game and got the win against a depleted Wizards team."

Weapons minus guns and knives ok with you? I don't want you crying when I whip out the baseball bat covered in barbwire and put it upside your dome. And I'll make sure Vishal will be there. They'll probably need the extra set of hands to load you into the ambulance.

I'll be at that game on the 18th, maybe I'll see you all there I don't know what section I'll be in yet though.

You wanna throw down with me in the parking lot? I'd like to beat a Heat fan before the game so I'm at maximum hype during.

e.

That dunk by Booker at the end was insane.

Blake Griffin-esque.

Agree with you on all your other points as well.

December 18th baby. It's on.

I think this is the first time in my life that we have multiple players who can throw it down with authority.

I was talking about the push into Armstrong's back after the flagrant.

That being said, McGee is going to be the best C we've had in a long time. He doesn't back down, and at least TRIES to outwork everyone on the court. At the very least a big upgrade from Haywood.

Oh I know. I was just thinking out loud about the shot to Nick Young's face.

And Haywood was arguably a top 10 center his last two years or so in DC. But you're right, McGee is going to be special.

Now I'm actually happy about this. Hinrich didn't back down for **** and there should be bad blood between division rivals. Hopefully this is the start of a bitter feud. And we put it to these ****ers on the 18th back at the Phone Booth. I'll be there FOR SURE.

Glad to see Howard ejected as well. No doubt that Armstrong deserved it, but so did Howard.

I can't tell if Howard through a backhanded punch at Nick Young on purpose if it just appeared that way because he turned around so fast.

God we're right there with them but the shots just aren't falling for us. Damn shame..

Really dumb Armstrong. Especially after Brand's flagrant 2 last week on McGee. And if you're gonna foul someone hard, at least make it Lebron.

And the fact that it took the refs 5 minutes to sort through this is pathetic.

Oh and don't let the door hit you in the ass on the way out Juwan. You bum.

I think we got a shot. One of Miami's big weaknesses this year has been good opposing PG play (See Jameer Nelson). Last I check we got a couple of good PG's.

Not gonna lie, I like McD5. He's a troll but he does it in a real nice and respectful manner. He's been trolling hard for years, be it Ladell Betts, Jameer Nelson being a top PG in the league or Orlando being better than the dynasty Bulls. He's a talented troll.

Oh I'll always read what he has to say. Some people's posts you just skip over you know but McD5 always brings it. Normally it's absurd but in an entertaining way.

Plus he turned me on to the Gillette Proglide, and for that I'll always be indebted to him.

I heard a rumor Steve, that Barnes might not be one and done at UNC. That he has told people that he's gonna stick around. Now I know everyone says that, but his early struggles lead me to believe that it's possible. Why would he want to leave when he can stay there (like he wants) and improve his draft status?

Though that brings to mind Terrence Morris who was considered a top 10 pick his sophomore year, stuck around for all four at Maryland and then went in the 2nd round and was out of the league in a couple of years.

I'm excited about Booker and Seraphin. Together, I think they can give us a whole lot of the toughness we need. And when you add McGee into the mix, with his potential to be one of the best centers in the league (he dominated Howard in the second half yesterday), we might have ourselves some real big men.

I had a theory immediately after the draft that they were trying to do with Wall, like was done with Isiah (i.e. the last pure PG to be the #1 guy on a championship team.) That he would be the focus and they would surround him with tough, hard nosed bigs and have scorers on the perimeter (Nick Young = Vinnie Johnson, Gilbert = Dumars, ? = Mark Aquirre)

You know what's funny? Wall would be the 2nd best player on Orlando if he was there right now. That shows you how mediocre the rest of the team is after Howard.

Lakers in 4.

It's beyond absurd that McD5 would tell me to hit the brakes and kill the fairweather ****.

Gacolb.....both he and j wall can serve refreshments. Keep the stars hyrdated.

It's a shame J Wall was serving refreshments tonight and your oh so great Magic still needed a last second bucket to pull out a win.

Seraphin got a good amount of garbage time in the Hawks game.

I've been real excited about him. Much moreso than Booker. I think he has a much higher ceiling. Great athlete, excellent strength, big bruiser type body, and raw as all hell. And he's hungry. After the Wall, he's the one I've been wanting to see the most.

Plus I loved this piece by Steinberg about him right after the draft:

http://voices.washingtonpost.com/dcsportsbog/2010/06/kevin_seraphin_his_fists_and_h.html

Kevin Seraphin, his fists and his Bulls hat

Longtime readers of this blog will recall that I had a certain soft spot for a former Ernie Grunfeld draft-day gamble named Oleksiy Pecherov, a foreign big man no fans really knew about when he was drafted. Pech maybe didn't work out on the court, but damn if he wasn't the most entertaining guy in a locker room filled with them.

The Wizards went ahead and got another foreign big man I had never heard about on Thursday night. His name was Kevin Seraphin, and the early indications are he might take Pech's spot in my heart.

Why? Well, at 1 a.m. he was standing outside Madison Square Garden, holding a basketball and posing for photos in front of a white stretch limo. While wearing a Chicago Bulls hat.

See, the Bulls technically drafted Seraphin. His trade to Washington won't become official until the free agent moratorium ends on July 8, according to Michael Lee. So he was handed a Bulls hat, and he never gave it up, wearing it throughout the majority of a press conference in which he talked constantly about playing for the Wizards.

He finally took it off when an NBA official urgently signaled from the sidelines, but by 1 a.m., he and his advisers were again wearing Bulls hats as they walked down Seventh Avenue. Hey, why not?

It would appear that Seraphin speaks fine English -- he made small talk with media members after his press conference ended -- but the majority of the event was conducted through a translator. That led to this bit of hilarity when Seraphin was asked about his strengths and weaknesses.

"I have a physical, a natural physical ability," he said through the translator. "I'm like 280 pounds. I never lifted [weights]...."

"Rebound, block shots, toughness," Seraphin suddenly said in English, interrupting. Then he used some sign language, smashing his fists together. "I can [use my fists of fury to pound weaklings into tearful submission], you understand?" he asked.

Hell oui, we understood.

"He's a tough player," the translator then said, deciding to translate English into English. "He's strong and he uses his body for that, because he has natural abilities."

"And I can score!" Seraphin said, interrupting again in English.

"He can also score," the translator wondrously said. "He's getting better and better offensively, too."

Seraphin said he's only been playing basketball five years ago, but that he immediately started thinking about the NBA. He said the Wizards scouted him in France, and were "one of the teams to come to see the matches a lot." He said he would "go step-by-step and work to get minutes," and he said Roddy B. is one of his best friends and mentors, and he said he he's happy to be going to Washington. He said this while wearing a Bulls hat.

"I have a good feeling with the team in Washington," he said through the translator. "They told me they really count on me, and I'm going to work. I know that I have to work hard now. And to get the opportunity to play with John Wall is going to help me, too, because John Wall is a tremendous player."

Big props to the Wizards. You kept it within 10 pts.

If Gee ever decides to leave DC, we will give him a tryout.

You mean like last week when he was a free agent?

(And this week he's starting for us and we lose by 1 point to the oh so great Orlando Magic.)

Hey SU:

Pacquiao/Marquez or Pacquiao/Mosley?

Man I wanted that one bad. But oh well. Great showing, great heart. Gee is a steal and I'm officially on the NY bandwagon.

Washington teams just love to embarrass themselves on national TV. Crosby will probably go for a hat trick on that Christmas thing with the Caps.